Neighborhood Schools Need Equity in Funding

Sep 10, 2015 | 12:00 AM

Left to right, Kevin Mullaly of Wethersfield and Albert Gonzalez and Devan Barnum, both of West Hartford, move wood chips onto a playground at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Saturday. (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant)

A large colonial house sits on an acre of land in a Hartford suburb. The sign in front reads: "I [Love] My Magnet School." What's not to love? Each magnet school has resources well beyond what even a well-resourced suburban school can afford.

The newest of the magnets [Sept. 3, courant.com, "Magnet School Opens In Wethersfield"] "is surrounded by freshly landscaped open spaces, including a soccer field and nature trails. ... Each pre-kindergarten room opens into an area with planting beds and a rain barrel to allow pupils to grow flowers and vegetables." A playscape and rooftop gardens are also planned, and science and robotics labs are already in place.

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Another article describes the efforts of volunteers from Wethersfield churches to clean up two Hartford schools [Sept. 6, courant.com, "Wethersfield Churches Beautify Hartford Schools"]. They landscaped, painted and weeded, helping to compensate for scarce funds for these neighborhood schools.

The unequal distribution of educational resources favoring magnet schools over neighborhood schools is a disgrace. While some magnet school students are studying on a million-dollar marine research vessel, other students in our urban neighborhood schools are up the proverbial creek and still waiting for their paddles. It's time to provide adequate and equitable funding to all schools to support all students.

Margaret Rick, West HartfordThe writer is a retired elementary school principal.